A classic A. Quincy Jones house in Brentwood just hit the market for the first time in more than a decade

Archibald Quincy Jones is a name that evokes the golden era of West Coast mid-century design. The prolific architect (1913-1979), who often collaboration with Frederick Emmons, had a long-standing working relationship with the pioneering developer Joseph Eichler. The latter was especially in evident at Crestwood Hills in Brentwood, where Eichler teamed up with Jones to provide a number of low slung, low-cost modern houses.

While A. Quincy Jones is associated with the Case Study House Program and custom homes like the Cooper House, designed for Hollywood legend Gary Cooper, his more modest work at Crestwood Hills is more in keeping with modernism’s utopian ideals.

Nevertheless, Los Angeles real estate tends to trend upwards and the next owners of this Jones-designed masterpiece, the Morris & Lydia Gelb House, are unlikely to have such humble origins as the original owners.

The Gelbs ran a grocery business in Hollywood and were lured to Crestwood Hills by the far-reaching views, seclusion and light, airy homes on the 825-acre site. This house, designed by Jones with Whitney R. Smith, is on the market for the first time in many years for $2.7 million.

After the Gelb’s death, the house was sold in 2010. With three bedrooms across just 1,200 square feet, it’s modest even by European standards. Now being sold by its second-ever owners, architect Bruce Norelius and his partner, it has benefitted from a substantial update and restoration that preserved the original lines, structure and sense of space.

Like many of the houses in the development, the Gelb House uses a post-and-beam structure, with Douglas fir components allowing for large uninterrupted spans beneath a gently sloping roof. Internal partitions are formed from concrete blocks and redwood panels with a poured concrete floor throughout. Norelius’s work included transforming a guest bed into a study as well as creating a Jack-and-Jill bathroom between the two bedrooms.

A. Quincy Jones, who also designed the Mutual Housing Association office overseeing the site, worked with Whitney R.Smith on many of the 160 houses in the Crestwood Hills community. Today, just 33 examples of their work remain, including the Gelb house, with many torn down and replaced over the decades (nearly 50 were destroyed in the huge Bel Air Fire in November 1961). This is a rare opportunity to secure a hillside retreat in the modernist heart of Brentwood.

The Morris & Lydia Gelb House is for sale through Brian Linder, AIA with The Value of Architecture at Compass